Bernard Durham is served by Walmart employee Sonia Silvera at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of a new Walmart Neighborhood Market store in Miami Gardens on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015.
WALTER MICHOT
MIAMI HERALD STAFF

Bernard Durham is served by Walmart employee Sonia Silvera at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of a new Walmart Neighborhood Market store in Miami Gardens on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015.
WALTER MICHOT
MIAMI HERALD STAFF

Walmart Neighborhood Market opens in Miami Gardens

Miami Gardens welcomed its third Walmart store with the grand opening of a Walmart neighborhood market Wednesday morning.

The opening took place 7:30 a.m., Jan. 7, at the new store, 3791 NW 167th St. with local elected officials on hand for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Palmetto Gardens Plaza. The store’s regular hours will be 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week.

The ceremony included presentations of $6,000 in grants from Walmart to the Norland and Carol City High School marching band programs. The grants will also go to the Miami Gardens-based Center for Family and Child Enrichment and the Dozier and Dozier Construction Academy.

The store was first announced October 2013 and is about 40,000 square feet — making it about a quarter of the size of the average supercenters, like the two on Northwest 27th Avenue and Northwest Second Avenue.

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The market stores mostly focus on selling produce, grocery and pharmaceuticals and have brought about 95 jobs to Miami Gardens, according to the company. The new store will serve as anchor for a 63,000 square-foot shopping center.

Three other tenants — Lee Nails, T-Mobile and Cell Phone Repair — signed leases last September to join the shopping plaza. Construction on those stores is expected to be completed later this year.

The store will host a welcome party for the community from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, with free food samples, face painting and a chance to meet the store manager.